What can I do to get into Macalester? Is it too late?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m a Sophomore so a lot of this information is not certain, but this is probably what I will get for the rest of high school.

GPA: 4.0 so far
SAT: Haven’t taken it yet, but on my PSAT I got 1220 without studying at all and I will study for the SAT and hopefully get above 1400
Class Rigor: I’m on track to do the IB program and have taken 2 AP classes as a sophomore, APUSH and APCSP. I have taken all honors classes through high school. I also want to do a CTE pathway in commercial photography, so I put those classes into my schedule. I might want to a CTE pathway related to programming/software instead though. Which would be more useful?

Here is my planned schedule for junior and senior year:

Junior Year

  1. IB English Lang & Lit HL1
  2. IB Spanish SL
  3. IB Psychology HL1
  4. IB Math Analysis & Approaches SL
  5. AP Studio Art
  6. TOK (0.5) / Video Production (0.5)
  7. Advanced Commercial Photography
  8. IB/AP Computer Science

Senior Year

  1. IB English Lang & Lit HL2
  2. IB Computer Science HL (maybe)
  3. IB Psychology HL2
  4. AP Calculus BC
  5. IB Visual Art HL (maybe)
  6. TOK (0.5) / Not sure (0.5)
  7. Advertising Art
  8. Free Period

I’m not sure if I want to do science higher level or art yet for my senior year. I also don’t know if I should take a free period that year.

Extra Curricular:

  1. Ultimate Frisbee- I started playing in Freshman year and plan to continue through Senior year, so I will have 4 years of that and probably be a team captain by my junior or senior year.
  2. Key Club- Started in freshman year and plan to continue through senior year and also probably do NHS. So 4 years of that and maybe being an officer by junior or senior year.
  3. Journalism- Started Sophomore year and will probably do for the rest of high school, so 3 years in all. If I continue to do it I will be assistant editor and maybe editor in chief by my senior year.
  4. Robotics- Started Sophomore year and will also probably do for the duration of high school. Possibilities for leadership positions.
  5. Work at the zoo- I have worked at my local zoo for one summer so far and plan to continue to for the next two summers.
  6. Volunteer work- I plan to volunteer somewhere in my community this summer. I wasn’t able to last summer really due to Covid, but one option for this summer would be volunteering at a local animal shelter. I really like taking care of animals and have a cat of my own from a shelter, would volunteering there look good on applications?
  7. T-shirt Business- I recently have started a t-shirt business with my own original designs of sea creatures, with all profits going to a foundation to save marine life. Would this be something important to put on a college app?

Most of the colleges I’ve been looking at have been liberal arts schools, but also some state schools. I don’t know what I want to do for my major yet. Macalester would be one school I would really like to get into.

Schools I’d like to attend:
Macalester
Lewis and Clark
Haverford
Vassar
Carleton
Whitman
UVM
BU
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Washington
Skidmore
University of Delaware

Is this a good list of colleges for what I have done in my high school career so far? What else would I need to do to get into these colleges? What colleges match the application I have so far?

2

You are a sophomore. You aren’t too late, you’re too early. Focus of doing your best in general, and, while taking steps to have the widest selection possible of colleges, it is far too early to focus on any particular college.

While I am a big proponent of art classes, I think that you need lab science classes - how many do you have already?

Keep on taking rigorous classes and keep on doing well in them, keep on with those ECs. In short, keep on doing what you’re doing.

I would, however, recommend that you learn a bit more about liberal arts colleges - do virtual tours, etc. Try and get a better idea as to what college life is like, and what thing you would like to have when at college.

Put that list aside, unless you get the opportunity to do a tour of one. As an aside - it is a good set of reaches, matches and safeties, but learning about more about what you want from a college will allow you to make choices which are more informed.

If you keep on the way you are going, you will be competitive for all of the colleges on your list.

1220 isn’t bad PSAT for a sophomore. Take a practice one in real conditions and see how you do. Getting above 1400 on your SATs isn’t at all unreasonable - you could even get 1500 or higher.

3

Thank you for the advice! I’ve been really unsure about what science classes to take my junior and senior year, partially because I don’t know if I want to do science SL or HL yet. Freshman year I took honors bio and this year I’m taking honors chemistry. Do you think I should take honors physics junior year and then IB Computer Science SL senior year? I could even take AP Bio or AP Chem junior year. Or would it be better to do HL science with computer programing?

4

I think that AP Chemistry or AP Bio would be a good idea, instead of AP Computer Science. Speak to your GC and see what they think. They know you better and are aware of who you are and how much work each class is.

Just as a warning, AP Studio Art is intense. It takes up a LOT of time and emotional effort.

5

Macalester is need-aware (as are some of the others on your list). So your ability to pay will factor in to that long list of impressive accomplishments. If you are full pay and you keep the trend you’ve got going, you’ll certainly get in.

6

Ok good to know. My GC is new to the school and doesn’t really know what he’s doing, but I’ll ask the IB coordinator about it.